Cdc Expands Booster Recommendations In Response To Omicron Variant
“J& J knocked me out,” Alex Ossola, who received her first dose of the vaccine soon after it became available in February, told TODAY. “I had a full-blown fever, teeth chattering just ridiculous side effects.” But her booster shot, which was the Moderna mRNA vaccine, felt much milder. “This was like nothing,” she said, adding that within 48 hours she felt completely normal.
Making matters even more confusing is the fact that some people may get their flu vaccine at the same time as the booster. That’s completely safe and a convenient way to cross both shots off your to-do list in the same appointment, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But if you do experience side effects later, it will be difficult to know which vaccine is responsible.
That’s what happened to Lindsay Mann, who received her Moderna booster alongside her flu shot last month. “I’m pretty sensitive and I have a pretty low pain tolerance,” she told TODAY, so dealing with the soreness after having one shot in each arm was a challenge. She also experienced a fever, body aches, chills and “complete exhaustion.”
Remember, though, that the side effects from the vaccine and the booster, while unpleasant, are typically mild and temporary. “If you’re weighing the side effects of the vaccine versus the effects of COVID, I would take the side effects of the vaccine any day,” Milstone said.
What Is A Flu Vaccine
Influenza vaccines are vaccines that protect against the four influenza viruses that research indicates most common during the upcoming season. Most flu vaccines are flu shots given with a needle, usually in the arm, but there also is also a nasal spray flu vaccine.
What Can You Do To Limit Your Discomfort
Before the shot:
- Take three to five deep breaths. This will help relax your muscles, including your deltoid.
- Distract yourself. Eat some sugary candy or chew gum. This will release feel-good chemicals called endorphins that can reduce your perception of pain.
- Limit your psychological discomfort. Look away if youre afraid of needles. Tell the health care provider that you dont want to know when he or she is about to deliver the shot.
- Choose wisely: Ask to get the shot in your non-dominant arm. That way, you wont aggravate the muscle as you do day-to-day activities.
- Use a pain reliever: Ice your arm for a few minutes and take acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
After the shot:
- Apply pressure. Compression can be helpful for reducing inflammation.
- Use cold and warm compresses. Ice the area to reduce any swelling. After a few days, try a warm compress to relax your deltoid muscle and improve your blood flow.
- Use a pain reliever. Take acetaminophen or ibuprofen if pain develops in the days after you get the shot.
- Keep moving. Use your arm, dont baby it. You want to get blood flowing to the area.
Getting your annual flu shot can protect you, your loved ones, and those around you from the flu and its complications. You may experience some soreness in the days after getting vaccinated, but the tips weve provided here should help you recover. If you develop more serious complicationssuch as a high fever, wheezing, hives, or weaknesscall your doctor or seek medical attention.
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What Is The Flu Vaccine
The influenza vaccine is used to prevent infection caused by the influenza virus. The flu can cause serious illness, especially in young children, older adults and people with chronic health problems, but anyone can become seriously ill from the flu virus. Even if you are not feeling sick, you could still be infected with the flu virus and pass it on to others. Read more about the flu.Vaccination is the best way to prevent infection and reduce the seriousness of illness if you become infected. It will greatly improve your chances of not getting the flu, but it does not give 100% protection.
Being vaccinated causes your body to produce antibodies against the flu virus. This means your body can respond faster and more effectively to the flu. By first coming across a non-infectious version of the virus in the vaccine, it learns to recognise it. When it comes across it again, your body can react much faster and in a more effective way.
Even if you get the flu after being vaccinated, you usually get a mild form of it and recover faster, and are less likely to have serious complications.
Youre Having An Immunologic Response
Thats Richard Zimmermans five-word answer. Hes a professor of family medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and director of PittVax, a CDC-funded program that evaluates the effectiveness of flu vaccines. He explains that its not the act of injecting the vaccine that makes you sore the next dayits how your body responds to that injection.
In fact, you should be glad that your arm hurts. That means the vaccine is working.
The flu vaccine works by presenting antigens to your immune system. Antigens are proteins that allow your white blood cells to recognize foreign objects inside your body, like viruses. You build up a natural immunity to viruses once infected, because your body learns to recognize them as dangerousso if they return with a vengence, your immune system is better prepared to fight back. Vaccines take advantage of this by providing very small amounts of antigens so that your white blood cells learn what the flu virus looks like.
This is why vaccination is much less effective if the annual vaccine recipe doesnt match well with the actual flu virus. Youve built up an immunity to the wrong strain.
That inflammation is what causes you pain. Zimmerman says that only about one in five people have this local reaction, though that number varies by vaccine. Its not that those other four dont become immunethey just dont experience inflammation to the point of pain.
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How To Minimize Arm Pain After Getting The Flu Shot
These tips should help to lessen the soreness at the injection site.
Flu season is almost here, and with the added concern of the COVID-19 virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly recommend that everyone who is 6 months old and older get the flu vaccine.
Some people may hesitate to get the flu vaccine because they believe the flu shot will give them the flu or because theyre afraid of the pain that comes with getting shots. While taking the sting out of the injection entirely may not be possible for many people, there are ways to minimize the pain both during and after the injection.
First, its important to understand why your arm hurts after the flu vaccine. The most obvious factor is that the vaccine introduces a needle into the arm muscle and injects fluid into it.
But its not just the needle thats bothersome. For some vaccine recipients, there is swelling and pain at or near the injection site for a couple of days after receiving the shot. This reaction is considered to be a good sign by doctors.
The reason why your arm specifically is sore is that your immune system is giving you a robust response to the flu vaccination,Dr. Juanita Mora told the American Lung Associations blog, Every Breath.
The good news is that you can help reduce the discomfort from the flu shot by taking a few simple actions.
When Should People Get The Flu Vaccine
Flu season runs from October to May. It’s best to get a flu vaccine as early in the season as possible, ideally by the end of October. This gives the body a chance to make antibodies that protect from the flu. But getting a flu vaccine later in the season is better than not getting it at all. Getting a missed flu vaccine late in the season is especially important for people who travel. That’s because the flu can be active around the globe from April to September.
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Shoulder Injury Related To Vaccine Administration Is Shoulder Pain And Limited Range Of Motion Occurring After The Administration Of A Vaccine Intended For Intramuscular Administration In The Upper Arm
How to treat sore arm after flu vaccination. They even have a name for pain in the shoulder or upper arm following a vaccination. You can also try icing the injection site to reduce redness and swelling and taking another dose of ibuprofen to ease any soreness or swelling. what arm should i get my flu shot in? The truth about arm soreness.
The quadrivalent vaccine is intended to protect people against four. Anecdotal reports online suggest that other people also have experienced prolonged soreness after getting a flu shot. The patient who received the vaccines in opposite arms had the local findings in the arm that received the ps23 vaccine.
After the shot is given, you. Inflammation reducing oral medications and corticosteroid injections to the. If older than 6 months, babies can also be given a sweet beverage.
We confirmed that bursitis is an uncommon adverse event that can occur after getting a flu shot, with an additional 2.5 cases of bursitis occurring for every million people who get vaccinated. To ward off soreness, massage the shot area immediately after the injection and move your arm around to keep the muscle moving and help your body absorb the medicine. If you have a sore arm after getting the flu shot, you may want to try the following to help ease your symptoms.
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How Long Does The Flu Shot Protect You From The Flu
A flu shot should help to protect you for the duration of the current flu season. However, youll need to get another flu shot next fall.
You may be wondering why you need to get a flu shot every year. There are a couple of reasons for this. One is related to the virus itself while another has to do with your level of immunity.
Influenza viruses are continually evolving throughout the year. Because of this, last years vaccine may not be a good match for the viruses that are prevalent this flu season.
The flu vaccine protects against the strains of influenza that research predicts will be the most prevalent in the upcoming flu season.
Your vaccine will typically include four strains , but may sometimes include three .
Additionally, a 2019 research review showed that the immunity provided by the flu shot decreases quickly over time.
This is why you likely wont have enough immunity from this years shot to protect you into the next flu season.
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Can You Prevent Arm Pain Before Your Flu Vaccine
There aren’t really any good hacks to lower your risk of arm pain ahead of time, Jamie Alan, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology at Michigan State University, tells Health. “You can pre-medicate with something like acetaminophen or ibuprofen, but there is some evidence that taking these medications may make vaccinations less effective,” she says.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention backs this up: In listing out considerations to take before getting your COVID-19 vaccine specifically, the CDC says it’s “not recommended” to take over-the-counter medication like ibuprofen, aspirin, or acetaminophen before you get the vaccine to prevent side effects. That’s because “it is not known how these medications might affect how well the vaccine works,” the CDC says.
Basically, without a ton of conclusive evidence on how, if, or why pain relievers may impact vaccine effectiveness, you’ll probably want to err on the side of caution and skip them before your shot .
Another tip: Alan says it’s a good idea to relax your arm “as much as possible” before your shot to keep your muscles from tensing and prevent the needle from having to work a little harder to get in there.
And, while this won’t necessarily change whether you’re sore or not after, it’s generally a good idea to get your vaccine in your non-dominant arm, Dr. Schaffner says. “If you do get a sore arm, it will interfere less with your function,” he says. “You can write more easily and do the usual things.”
What This Means For You
There is no evidence that this year’s flu shot is causing more side effects than in previous years. However, because the flu season is likely to be worse this year and may overlap with a winter spike in COVID-19 cases, it is extremely important to get vaccinated for both COVID and the flu this fall.
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Why Give Shots In The Arm
While the gluteus maximus in your butt is a very large muscle, there are some advantages to targeting the deltoid muscle in your shoulder.
First, the deltoid has less fat surrounding it than the gluteus maximus. Most vaccinesincluding the flu shotdont work as well when they are injected into fatty tissue. Second, your sciatic nerve runs down your lower back and into your bottom. A health care provider would risk irritating that nerveand causing you debilitating pain called sciaticaif they administered a flu shot to your butt.
Third, its more convenient to administer a flu shot to a bare shoulder than to a bare butt.
Is Your Arm Supposed To Be Really Sore And Swollen Like You
is your arm supposed to be really sore and swollen like you have a knot in it after you get a Meningococcal young adult vaccination
Common reactions to the vaccine may include soreness, redness and swelling where the vaccine was given. Headache, muscle soreness, chills, fever, and nausea may also occur after getting the vaccine. These reactions are mild and generally last 1 to 2 days. After a vaccine, pain and swelling can be managed with cold compresses at the injection site and acetaminophen, if needed. Avoid pressure on the injection site.
It is important to always report serious or unexpected reactions to a health care provider. Pain or redness, or swelling that goes past the nearest joint or pain or redness, or swelling that persists for 10 days or more, should be reported to the health care provider that gave the vaccine.
If you are concerned about your health, please speak with your health care provider.
Immunization Nurse
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Why Do Kids Need Shots
Shots are great for individual kids because it means that they won’t get those serious diseases. But shots are great for the health of the country and world too. How? When almost all kids have had these shots, it means that these illnesses don’t have much of a chance to make anyone sick.
Because most kids in the United States get all their shots, you rarely meet anyone who has had diseases like measles or mumps. Your mom or dad has probably had to show your school that you’ve had all your shots. Schools and camps do this because they don’t want the kids spreading or catching serious illnesses.
Flu Vaccine For Frontline Health And Social Care Workers
If you’re a frontline health and social care worker, your employer should offer you a flu vaccine. They may give the vaccine at your workplace.
You can also have an NHS flu vaccine at a GP surgery or a pharmacy if:
- you’re a health or social care worker employed by a registered residential care or nursing home, registered homecare organisation or a hospice
- you work in NHS primary care and have direct contact with patients this includes contractors, non-clinical staff and locums
- you provide health or social care through direct payments or personal health budgets, or both
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Why A Little Bit Of Arm Pain Is Necessary Each Year
Even if you received a flu shot in a previous year, you should still protect yourself with a new vaccination this year. This is because the vaccine is developed based on the specific flu strains scientists expect to be the most dangerous this year. Doctors recommend getting vaccinated in fall, but it is never too late to get the flu shot. Getting it late is better than not at all.
Do I Need The Flu Vaccine If I Am Travelling
Whether or not you are at high risk for the complications of flu, you should consider getting a flu vaccination before travelling overseas because studies have shown that the flu is the most commonly contracted vaccine-preventable disease among international travellers.
- Flu outbreaks have been linked to travellers.
- Certain types of travel where large numbers of people are likely to be in close proximity, such as cruise ship voyages or events that include mass gatherings, are particularly high risk.
- In tropical countries, the flu can occur throughout the year, so vaccination is worthwhile regardless of the season.
- In temperate climates in the northern hemisphere, the flu is more common between the months of December and March.
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Flu Vaccine For People With Long
The flu vaccine is offered free on the NHS to anyone with a serious long-term health condition, including:
- a learning disability
- problems with your spleen, for example, sickle cell disease, or if you have had your spleen removed
- a weakened immune system as the result of conditions such as HIV and AIDS, or taking medicines such as steroid tablets or chemotherapy
Talk to your doctor if you have a long-term condition that is not in one of these groups. They should offer you the flu vaccine if they think you’re at risk of serious problems if you get flu.